When it comes to LED product reviews…

Let’s face it, there are a lot of different LED lighting fixtures out on the market. Just looking for the right LED light bulb can prove to be a difficult task when there are so many different brands, and even price points they are sold at. While the technology has come a long way in a short time, if you purchase the wrong brand you might end up with one that has issues like buzzing or inconsistencies between their own led bulbs.

When you’re reading my reviews you will probably notice a common phrase that it is better to spend a little more on a quality product than having to replace a cheap one, and that is especially true for all LED lighting. Whether that’s an LED flashlight, orLED grow light. Not saying that you have to go with the most expensive option by any means, just that the line can get a little blurry if you’re trying to find the best choice for your money.

That’s where my reviews of these various LED products comes in. I use my expertise and knowledge to save you time and quickly help you to find the best led lighting available. Whether that’s for indoor lighting, flashlights, or light bars. There are a lot of little factors that go into what I use to determine if a product is quality or not. For me, it’s enjoyable to review these because of my passion for technology. For the consumer, it can be very frustrating to try to compare the quality of components, lumen count, and power consumption of an LED light. Let me save you the hassle!

Why go LED?

LED Technology has been constantly improving over the years to basically overtake most forms of lighting, or at least providing a great alternative. LED’s tend to last much longer than other forms of lighting such as incandescent or fluorescent lamps, while being much more energy efficient. At first the technology was a little bit expensive, but as it becomes more widespread the price just becomes more competitive.

Indoor light bulbs may cost more than their incandescent counterparts up front, but over a long enough period of time save a nice amount of money on the cost of the electricity to run them. Higher end LED bulbs can even last up to 10 – 15 years. Their “solid-state” build adds a lot of sturdiness to them, and they aren’t as prone to failure due to switching on and off. When the technology was more new these bulbs tended to either be too white or have a blue tint to them, which has long since been corrected by the major manufacturers.

You could even look at replacing all your regular light bulbs with LEDs to not only save money on your energy bill, but also to “future-proof” your house and increase its value a little bit. It certainly wouldn’t hurt! They are also a little more environmentally friendly since they don’t contain mercury which is highly poisonous, but may contain other metals like copper or nickel.

Outdoor motion sensor LED lights are also a very popular use of the technology due to their brightness and affordability. They also come in the solar powered variety, which is a testament to the low power requirements as well! I have had several non-LED motion sensor lights that were great…until the bulb burnt out and you had to drive across town to get the special size that fits it.

They replace basically everything

It sounds like a strong statement, but it’s true. I could continue the previous section until tomorrow with how many applications where a device that uses LED outshines (See what I did there?) its competition. One of my favorite examples would be the flashlight. Prior to LEDs, it seems like flashlights were always under powered and relied on heavy batteries that they used up fast. A good LED flashlight can be a third of the size and provide MORE brightness with better battery life. It seems like a no-brainer these days to go with one. Most technology when compared to them is either heavy, unreliable, or expensive.

LED Daytime Lights on an Audi A4

Another huge selling point is durability. They aren’t invincible, but since it doesn’t rely on moving parts it is VERY durable. A popular use that has come about are LED light bars for off-roading. They wouldn’t be used for that if they didn’t last, and also provide a LOT of light at the same time. Light bars are a huge improvement on old halogen lights and have basically replaced the whole market! As someone who likes to go camping, where would I be without my LED headlamp? Powered by a triple a batter that lasts forever to allow me to navigate easily in the dark.

It also gives me a little peace of mind that LED technology does not get hot, or “burn out”. They just get gradually more dim towards the end of their rated lifespan which is usually 25,000 hours or more depending on the manufacturer.

Large companies are investing in LED lighting

According to Wikipedia, in 2008 the Sentry Equipment Corporation used LEDs to light its new factory exterior and interior almost entirely with them. The initial cost was three times what a mix of traditional lighting would have been, but the extra cost was recovered within two years with the savings on electricity and won’t have to be replaced for twenty more years!

Now imagine if they had done that this year in 2016, it would have cost even LESS and made back the money even faster. To me this shows a fundamental shift in technology that will only increase the use of LEDs as time goes on. Sure, our traditional lights will stick around for a while. But there is something very appealing about a more environmentally friendly option that actually pays for itself over a short period of time.

There are plenty of other examples of LEDs being used not only by companies, but also by cities and governments. As much as I would like to list them, you can find them in the linked Wikipedia page.

LEDs are the future, now

With prices only getting better, it is clear that LED technology is here to stay. They are more environmentally friendly, energy efficient, and diverse enough to be used for so many different things. The fact that they have only gotten more affordable and grabbed more market share shows that they are only becoming more popular as time goes on.

This chart from Google Trends shows the rising interest in the term ‘LED Lighting’, which shows a steady climb in searches since 2004. Notice that I used a very broad term to search with. Now let’s look at the trend for the term ‘LED light bulb’

Notice how the trend for LED Light bulb shows a similar rising pattern, but an even sharper trend upwards in the past two years. I think this is pretty conclusive proof that interest in LED lighting is only on the rise.

And the reason is really pretty simple. From indoor lighting, outdoor lighting, plant cultivation, vehicle lighting, and even in new televisions. If it produces light, there is an LED version that is a superior product than the older technology. It’s just hard to compete with a light source that

Lasts much longer than other lighting technologies

Is incredibly energy efficient

Is durable

Can be used in a ton of different products

The technology itself is constantly evolving, and is not slowing down.